A granny flat out the back earns its keep on an Illawarra block. Somewhere for a parent or a grown kid to live close but separate, or a second dwelling that pulls in rent. The catch is it isn't one trade. It's a small house, and a small house needs a few different licensed people through it before it's done.
I'm Dave. At All Round Carpentry we do the carpentry — framing, subfloor, decks and steps, cladding, and the fit-out inside. The bit you walk on and live in.
What the carpentry covers
Most of it starts under your feet. On a flat block that might be a slab someone else has poured. Plenty of jobs round here go up on a timber subfloor instead — bearers and joists off proper footings, kept off the ground and flashed so the salt air and damp stay out of it. Get that set out square and level and the rest of the build follows it up the wall. Get it wrong and you chase the error the whole way to the roof.
After that it's the wall and roof framing to the approved plans — stud spacings, lintels over the openings, bracing and tie-downs. That last lot isn't a box-tick down here. A southerly buster puts real load on a frame, so it gets done properly.
Then the outside: cladding (weatherboard, fibre cement sheet, whatever the design calls for), the deck and steps at the entry. Inside: linings, door hanging, skirting and architraves, built-in robes, and hanging the vanity and kitchen cabinetry once they land on site.
That's a big chunk of the build. Not the whole build, though — and I'd rather say so now than have you find out halfway up.
The bits we don't do
A chippy isn't a plumber, a sparky, a waterproofer or a tiler. I won't pretend otherwise. On a granny flat those wet trades each need the right licensed person:
- Plumbing, drainage and the gas run; electrical and the switchboard; waterproofing to the wet areas and tiling over it — each its own licensed trade, each with the certificate that goes with it.
The whole thing also needs signing off. The approval — CDC or DA — and the certifier who inspects and passes it sit with the builder or certifier, not me. None of that's a drama. I build the carpentry to the approved plans, the other trades do their part at the right stage, the certifier ticks it off. Haven't lined those trades up? I work with good local ones and I'll point you the right way.
So when I say "the carpentry behind your granny flat," that's the honest version. Not "we'll build you the lot." That'd be overselling it.
Why the Illawarra makes it its own job
Two things shape nearly every granny flat down here. The slope and the weather.
Loads of blocks from Helensburgh through the Gong to the Shoalhaven fall away off the back, sometimes a metre or two. That's where a stepped or raised timber subfloor earns its money — the dwelling sits level over ground that doesn't, instead of someone fudging it with a slab on fill. The old fibro and brick streets near the city slope hard. The new estates round Shell Cove and Calderwood run flatter, but they're tight on space and setbacks.
Then the coast. Salt air eats cheap fixings, so connectors, bolts and screws want to be galvanised or stainless, especially anywhere near the water. For decks and steps I'll usually steer you toward merbau, spotted gum, or a composite — composite costs more upfront, but you just hose it. No re-oiling every summer.
We're fully licensed and insured, and we cover Helensburgh down through Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama to Nowra and the Shoalhaven. Seven-odd years as a Bunnings install partner too, so I know the supply side as well as the build.
Thinking about one for your block? Give me a ring on 0414 007 351, or send the details through for a free quote. Happy to come have a squiz, walk through the carpentry side, and be straight about which other trades you'll need lined up.
Common questions
- Do you build the whole granny flat, start to finish?
- We do the carpentry and building side — framing, subfloor, decks, cladding, linings, doors and the internal fit-out. A full granny flat also needs a plumber, sparky, waterproofer and tiler, plus a certifier to sign it off, and those are separate licensed trades. We work in alongside them, and if you haven't got your own people I can point you at locals I trust.
- My block slopes — is that a problem?
- Heaps of Illawarra blocks fall away off the back, so no, it's normal. We set the dwelling up on a stepped or raised subfloor with the right footings and bearer heights so it sits dead level over the slope. Sloping ground is a setout job, not a dealbreaker — it just needs the frame and subframe got right before anything goes on top.
- Do I need CDC or DA approval for a granny flat?
- Most secondary dwellings in NSW can go through as a CDC (a faster complying development path) if the block and the design tick the boxes, otherwise it's a DA through council — Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama or Shoalhaven. That's the certifier or builder's lane, not ours. We start the carpentry once the approval's sorted, and we build to whatever's been signed off.